The Energy Information Administration, the US Department of Energy's analytic arm, said all members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, except Iran, earned nearly $982 billion in net oil export revenues in 2012. That's a 5.4 percent increase from 2011. After adjusting for inflation with 2005 dollars as a constant, OPEC's revenue increased by 3.2 percent to $835 billion in 2012, the EIA added.
And Riyadh remained the kingpin, accounting for 32 percent of the total OPEC revenues in 2012 with $311 billion, the EIA said. In its July market report, the OPEC had reported Saudi Arabia producing 9.7 million barrels of oil per day last year, a 4.3 percent increase from 2011.
However, the EIA also points out that in the wake of the market trends, OPEC sales revenue will tumble by 4.3 percent to $940 billion in 2013 and by further 3.9 percent to $903 billion in 2014.
In its first projections for 2013, released on July 10, even the OPEC conceded that the demand for its crude will slip by 300,000 barrels a day next year to 29.6 million barrels, or 2.6 percent less than the group is pumping now.
That is below OPEC’s current output. As per the monthly oil-market report of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, OPEC pumped 30.61 million barrels a day in June compared with 30.98 million barrels in May, exceeding the target of 30 million bpd output.
Prices are softening. Oil prices fell on Friday on worries over a looming Chinese economic slowdown and decades-high oil output in the United States, staying just above $107 per barrel due to a weak US dollar and possible supply disruptions.
saudigazette